Prosecutors had hoped that the judge would allow the case to proceed, as scheduled, in November.
“We are ready to proceed,” the Montgomery County district attorney, Kevin R. Steele, said after the hearing. “We are confident our case and the evidence will be ready when we get a trial date from the judge.”
For the retrial, Judge O’Neill expressed confidence that impartial jurors could be found in Montgomery County. “We have more than capably demonstrated that we can deal with all aspects of jury selection,” he said.
The judge also formally allowed the withdrawal of Mr. Cosby’s former lawyers, Brian J. McMonagle and Angela Agrusa, who had sought, without giving reasons, to leave the defense. The two lawyers hugged and shook hands with other lawyers and supporters from both sides before leaving the courtroom early in Tuesday’s hearing.
Mr. Cosby, 80, posed for photographs with his new lawyers after the hearing but said nothing to reporters. The new legal team also includes the lawyer Sam Silver of Philadelphia and Kathleen Bliss, a former federal prosecutor from Nevada.
Mr. Cosby faces three charges of aggravated indecent assault against Andrea Constand, who worked for Temple at the time and said Mr. Cosby drugged her beforehand. Mr. Cosby denies the charges and has said the encounter was consensual.
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